Elyse Fitzpatrick - Love to Eat, Hate to Eat: Breaking the Bondage of Destructive Eating Habits

Contents

LOVE TO EAT,

HATE TO EAT

ELYSE FITZPATRICK

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE , OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations in this book are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Verses marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society.

Verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Verses marked ESV are taken from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Cover by Studio Gearbox

Cover photo Nataliia Pyzhova / Shutterstock

LOVE TO EAT, HATE TO EAT

Copyright 1999/2020 by Elyse Fitzpatrick

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97408

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-8011-1 (pbk)

ISBN 978-0-7369-8012-8 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of authors and publishers rights is strictly prohibited.

To my dearest friend, Julie Pascoe,
who was the first to touch my heart with Christs love
and has since taught me of Gods power to
keep His children through all their adversity.

Ive been blessed beyond measure by family and friends who have continuously encouraged me to follow on to know the Lord. Among these precious people are the members of my family, particularly my dear forbearing husband, Phil, who puts up with 15-minute dinners (on a good night) and encourages me in my ministry. My pastor, Dave Eby, and the members of North City Presbyterian Church (PCA) are so dear and have continually assured me of their love and prayers. Special thanks also to my dear sisters Anita Manata and Donna Turner, who have left little messages on my answering machine telling me that theyre praying and are looking forward to seeing me again someday. Im also grateful for the women who have faithfully attended my Uncommon Vessels Bible studies and from whom much of the insight contained in this book has come. I must again thank Dr. George C. Scipione of the Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship (IBCD) in San Diego for the way that he has patiently trained me to think about the sufficiency of God and His Word. I must also thank Jewelee Rossi (truly a jewel) for her feedback on this manuscript; my devoted mother, Rosemary Buerger, for her willingness to edit the rough drafts; and Steve Miller from Harvest House for his rare vision for biblical counseling and for his great skill in editing.

Everything I possess was given to me by our Great God and His wonderful children Thank You, Father.

Acknowledgments for the revised edition

I still say, Amen, to everything written above. Ive lived a life of blessing, having been surrounded by people who have loved the Lord and loved me. I am grateful.

Im also thankful to Steve Miller and Bob Hawkins from Harvest House Publishers who first gave me the opportunity to begin my writing career and who still see the need for this book.

Im particularly thankful for my wonderful family and especially for my dear husband who, for decades, has encouraged me to pursue Gods call on my life and has gladly taken up the slack for me.

Contents

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do,
do all to the glory of God.

1 C ORINTHIANS 10:31

I want you to know who I am and why I am so interested in this topic. I want you to understand my journeyIll bet were really not very different. Struggling with eating, dieting, and even binging and purging has been an abiding part of my whole life. The truth is that I have struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I remember the embarrassment of having to buy chubby clothes at the department store; of never being able to dress or look like the other girls (Thats not a style that would look good on you, dear, the saleswoman would say); of being the brunt of fat jokes (like the time my uncle asked me if I was going to subdivide and build because I had so much acreage); and the humiliation of knowing that others were always looking at how much I was eating. To add to all this, I grew up near the beach in Southern Californiaand all of my friends wore bikinis during the summer. I remember saving my money and buying one in ninth grade, thinking that I was going to lose weight so that I could wear it in the summer. I never did.

I know the heartache and devastation of being chronically overweight. This isnt something that just happened to me as a child. Even after I became a Christian as an adult, I would pray night after night that God would help me to lose weight. I would imagine how wonderful my life would be if I could just wake up thin the next morning. I read ads about liposuction and dreamt of the day when I could get a shot or take a pill and be instantaneously normal. I would diet and diet and do well for a time only to find myself entrapped again. After I had my three children, the problem seemed to get worse and worse. How could I weigh so much? How could I ever change? I would get depressed andyou guessed itgo eat to try to give myself some pleasure.

It wasnt until I began to understand that God had something more important in mind than merely my looking good or delivering me from the tyranny of food that I started to change and be thankful. God has taken this struggle of mine and turned it into a blessing. Hes used it to get at strongholds of self-righteousness, self-indulgence, worry, fear, and pride in my own heart, and Hes produced fruit from it that comforts and encourages others. Because I now have this perspective, Im able to rejoice over Gods goodness even though I have to admit that I still strugglesometimes more than others.

Im writing this book because I know the despair of hopelessness. I know what its like to start a diet and to get derailed from it, sometimes only making it a day or two. I know the shame of jealously looking at other women who wear a size 8. But I also know the joy of fighting this problem, with both successful and unsuccessful days. I know the joy of knowing that through it all, He is with me in the fight.